Connect America

settlement came through

2010-02-16T23:01:00.000-06:00

I got a call from Allstate insurance today. I was offered a settlement for my injuries, and it was a goodly sum. I was pretty happy about it to say the least, props to adjuster arbetman from their north Chicago branch. Although I was hoping to use this money to pay for my training, since I am beginning graduate school and my brother is getting married in Vietnam next December, most of the money is going to travel and moving expenses.
However, I did attain a touring bike (pics coming soon) I've named it black beauty. It's a 56cm Raleigh competetion GS. Not sure on the year (think early 70s), but it's in pretty good condition. All I have to do to get it riding again is tune up the deraileurs and get the seatpost loose (damn thing is stuck like a cow in a choir loft).
In other news, I rode the Janurary critical mass a few weeks ago on jolene, and it was damn cold. I've still been doing at least 5mi training a day, and I'm doing the Feb critical mass next week, if anyone wants to join me.

An Open Letter to the Guy Riding His Bike in the Cold and Wind and Snow and Slush and Rain

2010-02-02T12:01:00.004-06:00

I just posted this because it made me laugh... I am usually the guy riding in the wind and snow and rain and slush

An Open Letter to the Guy Riding His Bike in the Cold and Wind and Snow and Slush and Rain

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Reading and reasons (GRAPHIC)

2009-10-14T22:13:00.000-05:00

I have been reading The Ultimate Race a lot lately, and am becoming really interested in periodization. I know that anyone who knows anything about racing knows periodization, but it is a new phenomonon for me.

This past summer, I had a determination to get in shape. It was going well for all of may and june, I was about 20lbs/9.07kgs lighter and was feeling really good about myself. All of that ended on July 6th, as I was riding my bike north on milwaukee avenue, at milwakee and evergreen. A driver opened his parked car door, and I could not swerve out of the way fast enough. I caught the lip of his door with my foot and I went flying. An ambulance came, and by the time I got out of the hospital that night, I found out that I had a broken radial head, and a badly lacerated foot. So began my summer of melancoly, for three weeks after I had to sit on my couch. Not because of my arm, although it was a big cast.

The real problem was my foot, I could not walk because of the laceration in my foot. It was huge, deep, and in almost the worst place it could be in:

I could not flex my foot, or even put weight on it because the stitches would rupture and and the wound would tear, the foot was torn where the door had hit it, and the tear was in between the toes as well. It took three weeks for me to be able to put weight on it, and even then it was weeks before I could stand for long periods of time.
Here is how it looks today

Today, it hurts when I stand up from sitting for more than a few moments. This is the worst when I wake up in the morning, when I get out of bed the entire front of my foot is stiff until I have walked for about ten minutes. I cannot run more than a few steps, and there is always a light pain no matter what I am doing.
When I was laid up on the couch, I made up my mind that I was going to have to make some changes and do something legendary with myself. That was the origional brewing that got me on the trail of my project to reconnect and make my way across America.

weigh-in week 1

2009-10-14T19:58:00.000-05:00

This was kind of a dissapointing weigh-in, but it's still at the beginning and I am not going to get discouraged.

Weight: 213.6lbs / 96.66Kg

Measurements, all taken with muscles relaxed:

Upper arm (bicep)

R: 12" / 30.5cm
L: 13" / 33cm

Thigh

R: 23" / 58.4cm
L: 22" / 55.9cm

Calf (at center of muscle)

R: 15" / 38.1cm
L: 15.25" / 38.7cm

Neck

14.5" / 36.8cm

Chest (at nipple height)

42" / 106.7cm

Stomach (at navel)

43" / 109.2cm

Waist (2"/5.1cm below navel)

41.5" / 105.4cm

Abdomen (3"/7.6cm below navel)

38.5" / 97.8cm

Hips (at largest point)

42.5" / 108cm

No real losses, but I am noticing that I am getting stronger, and faster on my bike. I am not losing my breath as much when I am riding and sprinting around in the city, so I know I am making progress.

Training and thoughts

2009-10-10T18:47:00.000-05:00

It's turning chilly here in Chicago, but still so very beautiful. I felt really good on my ride today, although it was just a short 10mi/16km ride through the city. I have realized that while urban riding it is much harder for me to reach aerobic plateaus, it does let me work on my anarobic strenth, so I did the whole ride sprinting, then resting at stoplights. It was a good ride, and I got warmed up about a quarter of the way through.
I would like to write some more about my philosophy for this trip, as it is not simply a ride across this great land. When I was growing up, I travelled all over this country with my family. I was born in Ohio, and when I was three my parents joined the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). Their first assignment was in Prince Albert, SK, and so began my travels. It seemed that every summer our family would go on vacation to remote locations all across the United States and Canada. We never had much money, and so most of our stops along these trips were focused on free or cheap attractions like national parks and campgrounds, or visiting old friends of theirs across the country.
I would like to create some sort of feeling like that again. I would like to once again be taken aback by the beauty of our country, to experience again the joy of making new connections with the people that I run across in my travels. The spirit of America runs deep through the land and through the people in all different walks of life in different ways, and I intend to explore it.

In another area, I have been recieving very positive feedback about my goal so far, and I really appriciate it, it keeps me going on these cold days and with the sore muscles and achy feet.

The fall ride

2009-10-08T14:58:00.001-05:00

I did another training ride yesterday. It was a nice 30.7mi/49.4km trip through the afternoon sunshine. It really got me into a positive mindset about the philosophy of my whole trip, and made me think that there will be a lot of great times to come, both in training and the entire trip. The sun shone, there was a gentle breeze, and there was a sense of commeradery with everyone I saw on the trail and the other bikers on the street.
I saw a flock of turkeys blocking traffic, I saw the leaves turning and falling from the trees, and animals of all kinds through the natural and urban environments. It was an amazing experience, and one that I cannot wait to repeat day after day. The training is continuing, and I am happy to report that there was no muscle soreness after the ride, only some soreness on my left shoulder from carrying a full messenger bag.
I have gotten a volunteer training partner, and look forward to riding with him sooner or later. I am not sure how riding with a partner will be, but the training stuff that I have been reading said that it can't hurt.
In the training manual side. I am still reading The ultimate ride, and it has been informative so far but I still have a lot more reading to do.
I am still looking for a trainer and/or rollers for my bike once the weather begins to turn. I have an experienced cycle friend who has said that he will help me choose one. I will keep updating on this, and other equipment as I come upon and aquire it.

Today's training: less is more pilates: for flexibility, strength and muscle tone

Training materials and the next ride: an invitation

2009-10-06T20:18:00.002-05:00

The first two of my training books arrived at my library today, and I am really excited. My books are sort of a mishmash at this point, but I hope to wittle them down until I am left with an excellent training program all my own. My first book is The Ultimate Ride by Chris Carmichael, apparently this guy was Lance Armstrong's coach and he developed Carmichael training systems. Publisher's weekly says that it's pretty good, but there are a few negative reviews on Amazon, likening it to an infommercial for his training system. I will remember to take this with a grain of salt, but I am looking forward to reading this book.

The next book I got is not so much a training manual, it's more of an all around guide to bikes, which is something that I need as I look forward and think about how much I need to save in order to afford a bike that I can actually use to ride across the states with some degree of safety. It also has a good amount of repair info, which I am also going to need considering the equipment that I am working with. It is called The complete book of cycling by Dan Joyce, Carlton Reid, and Paul Vincent. At first glance it seems to be a pretty good book for what I am going to need, but I will have more thoughts on this later I'm sure.

On the other end of my prep work, I have not yet settled on a training program, but one thing that all of them agree on is the importance of building base mileage early in the training. To that end, I am doing another ride from Great Lakes naval base, down the green bay trail and into chicago tomorrow. I invite any and all who would like to join me to come on out. Keep in mind, I am not very competative, and am not a top calibur athlete by any means, so plan accordingly. I will be leaving from the west parking lot of the base at approximately 4pm. Follow me on twitter if you would like to know about any last minute changes that may be happening, or you can just keep an eye on it over there in the right column of my blog. It should be a good time no matter what, just keep in mind that it is a 30+ mile ride.

Today's training: core yoga, for flexibility and strength

starting equipment

2009-10-05T22:26:00.001-05:00

My starting equipment is not really high quality, but this is what I am working with as a start. I hope to upgrade at some point during the winter or early spring, as soon as I can afford it. Anyway, I'm rambling, here's the list:

59cm 1976 motobecane nomade stock frame
stock front brake, no back brake
stock headset
used road drops
stock wheels and rear cassette
All city bottom bracket, chainring, cranks, track pedals
kalloy seat post
soma seat
all city chain

I'm running a 45-18 ratio single speed conversion on this bike, it's a long story.

Weigh in: beginning

2009-10-04T15:36:00.000-05:00

As I sit here with my laptop, bag of cheetos beside me, I am convinced even more that I need to make this ride. I just finished doing my first weigh and measure in, I would like to do this at least once a week throughout my training, and possibly through my trip as well. I'll be doing this in english as well as metric notation, as I will try to keep everything from now on

Height (not expecting this to change but here it is): 6'1/2" / 184.2cm
Weight: 210.8lbs / 95.62Kg

Measurements, all taken with muscles relaxed:

Upper arm (bicep)

R: 12.25" / 31.1cm
L: 13" / 33cm

Thigh

R: 23" / 58.4cm
L: 23" / 58.4cm

Calf (at center of muscle)

R: 15" / 38.1cm
L: 15.25" / 38.7cm

Neck

14.375" / 36.5cm

Chest (at nipple height)

41" / 104.1cm

Stomach (at navel)

43" / 109.2cm

Waist (2"/5.1cm below navel)

41.75" / 106cm

Abdomen (3"/7.6cm below navel)

39" / 99.1cm

Hips (at largest point)

42.5" / 108cm

Well, there it is.
This is my beginning point, and from here begins the training regimen which I am going to be a slave to until I take my trip next summer.

The Beginning: thoughts and a realization

2009-10-03T18:17:00.001-05:00

As I began my ride last thursday, a nice 33.7 mile-er through a chilly early October storm; I was struck with the idea that I rode past this path in my train hundreds of times, but as I lost the trail and picked it up again, and struggled across the rough and muddy patches I realized that I really knew nothing about this place, or really any place that I had passed so carelessly in either a train, plane, or car.
As I thought about this I realized that none of us really knows much about the places that we see every day, or the people that may live there.

As I rode on, the rain poured down, and I was cooled from my sweat, and I could not help but smile at the beauty of the country. I remembered that joy from when I lived in the hills of Ohio, and from the grasses of the high plains where I grew up. I realized that though I love this country, when I used to travel it from state to state every summer I did not really ever know what I was passing, even if I was doing my best to pay attention. I thought about my convalesance from being hit by a car in the city this past summer, and how much that experience made me realize that life is fleeting, and we only have a short time upon this earth.

I then realized what I wanted, and had to do. I have lived for 25 years on this earth, and there is still so much of my country that I have not seen, and so much that I have seen that I do not know. In order to recitfy this, I have decided to ride my bicycle from Chicago all the way to the Pacific Ocean, and blog about it daily.

I am beginning my training now, and will time my route so that I am crossing the Rocky Mountains just as the last of the winter snows melt off to allow me safe passage. Why am doing this? Several reasons, but here are some of the main ones:

I want to get in shape: as far back as I can remember I have never been in the best of shape, and these past few years I have become concerned that if I do not take action I will never get into shape.
I want to reconnect to the America where I grew up: I grew up in an America of wide open spaces, sweeping landscapes draped with a rich mantle of color in the day, and blanketed by the stars at night. I feel like I have spent too much time surrounded by concrete and bricks, and it is sucking some of who I am right out of me.
I want to feel like I am a part of something bigger than my work and my belongings: I feel like we as a culture forget an essential part of the American spirit, when we face overwhelming odds, and move forward with untiring strength until the goal is accomplished. It is this spark that I am going to need to channel if I am going to accomplish my goal
I want to connect with the people that I meet along the way: As I reconnect with America, I also want to reconnect with Americans, there are some of the most wonderful people in our country in out of the way places, and I intend to open myself to the wonder that is the streets and roads and people of this great land.

I invite you all to follow along with me as I take the ride of a life time, and connect America with myself and with all those that I come into contact with.